The OPCS Classification of Interventions and Procedures (OPCS-4) is a Fundamental Information Standard which is revised periodically. The classification is used by Health Care Providers and national and regional Organisations.

OPCS-4 is used to support operational and strategic planning, resource utilisation, performance management, reimbursement, research and epidemiology. It is used by NHS suppliers to build/update software to support NHS business functions and interoperability.

The classification is published in two volumes. The Tabular List and Alphabetical Index are available from The Stationery Office at www.tsoshop.co.uk

National information standards and data collections, such as Commissioning Data Sets requiring OPCS-4 coding should use the latest mandated version of the OPCS-4 as given in the table below:

The OPCS-4 Requests Portal allows stakeholders to submit change requests to the Clinical Classifications Service all year round. A cut-off date for receipt of change requests for consideration in the next release is published on the Requests Portal. Requests received after the cut-off date will be considered in a subsequent release.